While spending the summer in Sapporo in Hokkadio, at the northern region of Japan, I made a number of daytrips to explore a bit of the mountainous region of Furano. I ended up in a mountainous cultural village Ningle Terrance located next to fancy hotsprings of the New Furano Prince Hotel Onsen with a nearby cable car, the […]
Just before leaving Hong Kong I was invited to join an artist friend to revisit the surreal Dafen Artist Oil Painting Village in Shenzhen. It’s the place where you can get any painting faked for pennies. The artist friend was commissioned to do a large scale piece and the idea agreed upon with the customer […]
Shenzhen has a growing art scene and across the city the government is designating areas for galleries and artists. As an example, the Overseas Chinese Town has the Loft Art Terminal, a relatively new area that’s really taking off and becoming a small 798 (Beijing) or M50 (Shanghai). It’s a schick little area with lots […]
Taipei is one of my favorite cities. Ever since I first arrived in Taipei I felt a strong connection to Taipei and the Taiwanese people that made me want to stay and study Mandarin for a semester and then come back to Taiwan a year later for a long academic visit. In the time that […]
Taipei’s push for more arts and culture is really showing throughout the city. In the last few years the local government has transformed previously run-down factory space into a happening bustling space for local artists and interesting exhibitions. Songshan Cultural District, the Taipei Treasure Hill Artist Village and even the Taipei City Hakka Cultural Center. […]
China, Hong Kong and Taiwan in particular receive a lot of criticism for their lack of artistic creativity. I’ve had endless conversations with fellow expats describe the places I hold dear as an "arts wasteland" where there’s "no creativity" with an over commercialization of art into tasteless semi-fashion and art "lacking any expression of individuality". […]
Want classy paintings hanging in your house or office but can’t afford it? Shenzhen has a solution for you – Dafen "Artist Village", where you’ll find endless painting shops with artists copying the best of the best of the art world. Fancy a Van Gogh? Maybe a Picasso? Hand them the photo, come back in […]
